Houston will be looking to get a bad taste out of their mouth, after a complete meltdown last week against Memphis. After holding the Tigers scoreless the whole first half, Houston allowed 42 points in the second half, which led to Memphis taking the game away from the Coogs.
Houston’s running game improves weekly, but a big blow happened to the running back group this week, as Dillon Birden will be sidelined for three to six weeks with a dislocated elbow. Birden suffered the injury in the fourth quarter last week against Memphis. Fellow running backs Duke Catalon and Mulbah Car will get the bulk of the carries going forward. Another name you could see going forward for the Coogs is sophomore Patrick Carr.
Houston quarterback Kyle Postma will be looking to build on what was a solid outing against Memphis this week, against a tough USF pass defense that allows an average of 213 yards passing a game. With Birden out, expect Postma to possibly go to the air a bit more often.
On the other side of the ball, USF star quarterback Quinton Flowers will try to give the Cougars fits through the air and on the ground. Even scarier than Flowers though, is the USF run game. Flowers is a huge threat if he finds a hole in the defense, but running backs Darius Tice and D’Ernest Johnson are also huge problems for defensive end Ed Oliver and this Houston defensive line.
USF head coach Charlie Strong has his guys playing tremendous football this year as the Bulls are undefeated to start the season. Coming off a close win against Tulane last weekend, USF will look to keep their season rolling Saturday. With the home crowd on their side, USF is the favorite to win this game and rightfully so. Houston’s defense will struggle this week and Flowers will have a field day through the air and on the ground.
USF wins this one soundly 45-21. Postma will struggle and the running game, without Birden, will struggle and this Houston secondary will be hard-pressed to stop the USF offense.
